No reduction in birth weight in phenylketonuria.

Birth weight in a total of 1886 British infants with phenylketonuria (PKU) born between 1964 and 1992 was examined in relation to sex, social class, gestational age, disease severity and birth year. Comparisons were made with two national surveys (British births 1970 and Office of Population Censuses and Surveys 1981). In contrast to a recent Dutch study, birth weight in British infants with PKU (mean 3307 g, median 3337 g) showed a similar distribution to population norms. Birth weight showed no temporal trends and no trends with disease severity. CONCLUSION. Birth weight is not reduced in British infants with PKU.